Rain and snow

"with a little help from my friends"




















The end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 have been extremly dry in Beijing - not a single raindrop since October 24th. The rain that finally broke Beijing's 110-day dry spell on February 15 fell harder and longer than it would have, thanks to the local government adopting cloud-seeding and other artificial precipitation measures. Given the favorable conditions (the meterological bureau was predicting light rain) the local government decided to launch a land and air offensive on Feb 12 to try increase the amount of rain that would fall over Beijing.
One plane from the Chinese air force was called into offer air support to 7 ground teams who blasted 49 rockets into the low lying clouds and another 31 teams who were busy burning 875 sticks of Silver iodide atop various mountains around suburban and rural Beijing.

The rain-making was supervised by the Beijing Weather Modification Office and was part of a broader operation to provide much needed rain to large parts of northern China. The rain-making exercise appeared to be a success, with the Beijing News reporting that an average of 9mm of rain fell in the urban districts of Beijing and an average of 7mm across the whole metropolitan area. Originally the forecast was for a fall of about 3mm across the city.















Snow cover Beijing
On the heels of its successful rainmaking venture last week, the Beijing Weather Modification Command Center has shot an additional “500 cigarette-size sticks of silver iodide" from “28 weather rocket-launch bases” into the clouds over the past few days to help create this week’s snowfall, the most the city has seen in a number of years. The artificially induced precipitation is intended to quell the region’s ongoing drought, but also led to the closure of 12 highways around the capital. You can not get all......

Guilin - a dreamland

During Spring Festival we took some vacation down south to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guilin city.
The stunning landscape in which the city is situated has a kind of magic that is all its own. The strangely shaped hills, or karsts, with the verdant vegetation ranging from bamboo to conifers together with wonderful caves make Guilin such an attraction for tourists and Guilin is considered to be the pearl of China's thriving tourist industry on account of the natural beauty and historic treasures. Covering an area of about 27,800 square kilometers the city is rather compact when compared with other leading cities in the country.

However, situated within this area one may find green mountains, crystal clear waters, unique caves and beautiful stones. Major attractions include Elephant Hill, Li River, Reed Flute Cave and Seven-Star Park.

Guilin is also an important cultural city with a history encompassing more than 2000 years. The city has been the political, economic and cultural center of Guangxi since the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127)




















Solitary Beauti Park is considered to be the oldest place of interest and has been so since the far off days of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The prosperity enjoyed by the city during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) is epitomized by the Tomb of Prince Jingjiang.


The many ethnic minorities represented here that include the Zhuang, Yao, Hui, Miao, Mulao, Maonan and Dong enrich the cultural life of the city. Each minority has its own unique customs and festivals and this means that they are much more abundant here than in many other places elsewhere in China.

After a "night cruise" on the four lakes sorrunding Guilin and sending the night at hotel we next day took a cruise boat along the Li River, heading for Yangshuor.














There was a lot of cruise boats on the river and sometimes almost a "traffic jam" due to the very low water in the river. Some majestict sceeneries along the river and at one stop we could see where the motive on the back of the RMB 20 note was collected. We were a little unlucky with the weather since there was a light rain all day.

After a five hour ride we arrived to Yangshou and like Guilin, it has incredible karst scenery and a parade of Chinese package tourists who can be spotted wearing baseball caps and following a tour leader who carries a flag.














However, it isn't your typical Chinese town. Yangshuo has a reputation as a foreigners' village in Southern China. This town feels like one of the stops on the travelers' trail, with lots of the same people you'd expect in Katmandu, Sihanoukville or Dali. It does not have a big China-city feel to it. It is more like a vacation town, with restaurants and shops.
Many travellers use Yangshuo as a base and spend their time exploring the karst scenery and rivers, or checking out caves and local temples. Renting a bike and taking off into the countryside, with or without a guide, is one popular strategy. There is also a whole community of rock climbers enjoying hills and caves.
Others just take it easy in the many cafes and bars. While this certainly isn't the whole story, the town is in some ways a break from the rest of China. For this reason, it is very popular with foreigners who work in China.

Welcome to the year of the Ox

According to one Chinese legend the 12 animals argued as to who would be the first animal in the 12-year cycle. The gods decided to hold a contest in which the animals must cross a river.
The first animal to cross the river would be the first on the chart followed by the other animals according to their finish. The rat was the smallest of the animals and was expected by the other animals to finish last. Quickly the 12 animals jumped into the river but unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped on his back. As the ox was about to jump on the riverbank to claim first place, the rat jumped off his back and won the race. The pig that was very lazy ended up last. As expected, their peers often tease most children who were born in the year of the pig.

People born in the Year of the Ox are patient, quiet yet inspire confidence in others. They are eccentric and temperamental. They speak little but when they do they are quite articulate. Mentally and physically alert, they are generally easy-going but can be very stubborn and they hate to fail or be opposed. They are most compatible with Snake, Rooster, and Rat people. They also love to travel.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

Happy Chinese New Year to all of You.

As usual the "war" broke loose late in the evening on the 25th - after all had their traditional dinner (tun nian fan) with their families.
If You never been in Beijing during Spring Festival you can not imaging what is all about - it is constant thunder during 24hrs. And it is very LOUD.... the louder the better and more impressive. It is almost impossible to sleep during that night.
We are also unlucky to have a "firework stall" just across the street where they sell fireworks. People just walk a few meters away from the stall and set fire........

But this is the way it is here and this will continue for 15 days in Beijing. After that it stops. But after the first night is just allowed to use firework between 7 in the morning and 24 at night - so we will get some sleep -:)

Getting ready for Spring Festival

China is now prepairing for the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) and in the end of next week it will be celebrated all over China.
This is the one time per year when all families trying to get together, often in their home town.
Some have already gone home but during end of next week millions of chinese will travel by car, bus, train and airplane across China to reach their home towns. This is a gigantic logistic issue that I think just can be done here in China.

At the Beijing West Railway Station,120 temporary ticket windows is opened near the main ticketing hall. As of Jan 5, 240 ticket windows now serve the large crowds lining up to buy tickets home from Spring Festival. Tickets are sold around the clock.

Also preparation for the big fireworks have started - to soon and illegal in some areas...

Police and firefighters in begiining of the weeks destroyed a huge batch of illegal fireworks that had been confiscated in the lead up to Spring Festival. 3,500 boxes of fireworks valued at around RMB 1.02 million were destroyed. The explosion took place at a reservoir in Daxing District on Monday.